Railway flat car underframe



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. mwwif' Jan. 27, 1959 J. E. GUTRIDGE RAILWAY FLAT CARUNDERFRAME 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 27. 1954 United States Patent O RAILWAY FLAT CAR UNDERFRAME .lack E. Gutridge, Munster, Ind., assignor to Pullman- Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Delaware Application January 27, 1954, Serial No. 406,429

2 Claims. (Cl. 10S-414) This invention relates to a railway at car and more particularly to an underframe structure for a flat car specially constructed for transporting standard sized highway trailers or their equivalent.

Special devices used for the particular purpose of the flat car include holding devices for the rear of the trailers and vehicle stands movably attached to tracks affixed to the car ooring for holding the fth wheel ends of the trailers, such holding devices and stands not being parts of the present invention.

The principal object of this invention is an underframe construction including novel structural arrangements providing suflcient' strength to withstand the particular loads transmitted toit by the holding devices and vehicle stands when in use, and yet a construction which is light-weight, economically assembled, and of common stock material.

Another object of this invention is to provide supporting means between the car bolsters and the car ends in order to strengthen the resistance of the floor structure to bending moments placed thereon.

And yet another object of this invention is to provide novel supporting means between the' car bolsters and closely adjacent the center sill for strengthening the floor structure adjacent thereto.

A further object of this invention is Yto provide novel oor Stringer means in an underframestructure where the crossbearers undelie the center sill.

These and other objects will belmore apparent from the description and drawings, in which: y

Fig. l is .a fragmentaryv top plan view of one end of a railway at car;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the portion of the car shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view ofra central portion of the car;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the central portion of the car shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the other end of the car;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the portion of the car shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. l showing the internal structure at the car end;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 1 showing the underframe structure at a bolster;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 3 showing the underframe structure at a crossbearer; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary endelevational view ofthe car portion shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a railway flat car is depicted having a floor 20 supported by side sills 21, body bolsters 22, and crossbearers 23, the car being supported at each end on a truck (shown in phantom). For purposes of clarity of disclosure, the car is arbiice trarily divided into a front section 24 and a rear section 25 (Fig. 3). In order to hold or lock the rear of a standard-sized highway trailer, a first front holding device, generally indicated at 26, is attached to the car oor at the extreme front of the car, and a second holding device 27 is attached to the car oor 20 at the center of the car for holding another trailer.

For tne purpose of. supporting the front or fifthwheel end of a trailer, a first vehicle stand 28 is provided to be used with the first device 26. To provide for varying trailer lengths, the stand 28 is movable longitudinally of the car on a track 29 which is secured to the car floor 20 and which is of a predetermined length, herein depicted as extending from the center device 27 toward the front device 26 for at least half the length of the front section 24. A second vehicle stand 30 s provided to be used with the center device 27, being movably mounted on a track 31 of predetermined length, herein depicted as extending from the car rear end wall 32 toward the center device 27.

Each bolster 22 comprises a pair of parallel, vertically disposed webs 33 anda pair of kbottom plates 34 secured to the lower edges of the webs and extending from the center sill, generally indicated at 35, to the side sills 21. A pair of 'channel shaped stitfeners 36 extend across the t-op of the center sill to connect the web portions on opposite sides thereof (FigfS). A body center bearing plate unit 37 of the -usual construction is attached beneath each bolster. As indicated herein, a longitudinally movable center sill unit 35 is provided, using a commercially available center cushioning means 38. ./mysuitable` construction may be employed in the bolster between the laterally spaced portions 35a of the center sill to receive the king pin.

The front holding device 26 is secured to the car structureby means of a pair of side channels 39, a pair of vertical center channels 39a, and a rear panel 4t),- all secured to an end sill angle member 41 which, with a brace 26a, is securedy to the floor 20. Due to the constant horizontal stresses placed on the device 26 by the attempted longitudinal movement of the attached trailer resulting frombuing and draft forces, a structurally stronger floor construction as compared to the usual Hoor arrangement is vnecessaryin order to resist such forces transmitted to the floor in the form of bending or twisting components acting in opposite direc'- tions. For this purpose, a novel pair of support brackets 42 and 43 (Figs. 8 and 9) were conceived which strenthen the oor and the entire car end structure in a manner suicient to withstand all expected bending moment stresses. Each bracket is comprised of a pair of parallel vertically disposed web plates 44 and 45 secured at their bottom edges to a base plate 46 perpendicular to the web plates. The base plate has a horizontal portion 47 and a downwardly extending'portion 48, the latter portion being secured to the front edge 49 of the front bolster base plate 34 as by welding. A stiiening plate 50 is secured to the linner base portion of each base plate 46.

Both web plates 44 and 45 are shaped to t against the adjacent floor, bolster, and plate surfaces in order that they may be secured thereto, as by weldingrthe inner plate 45 being shaped slightly differently than the outer plate 44 at the bolster end to accommodate the bolster front channel-shaped stiffener 36. A generally triangular end gusset plate 51, which is secured to the end sill angle 41 and the side sill 21 (Fig. ll) and connected to the end of each bracket 42 or 43 by a tie plate 52, completes the novel car end structure. As either car end, or possibly both, may have a holding device 26 secured thereto, the rear end of the car has the identical construction as the front end.

Patented Jan. 2,7, 1959 The crossbearers 23v are each comprised of a transversely extending I beam attached to the lower portion of the side sills 21 and extending -completely across the carunder the center sill," instead of'fthe usual: crossbearer arrangementbeing broken by the centen sill. A novel oor supporting construction with respect to the longitudinally extending stringe'rs is used between' the body bolsters, comprising a pair of upwardly facing channel members 53 and 54, one on each side of the center sill (Fig, l), and secured to the flooring 201 At each crosshearer 23, vertically disposedbeam sections 55 are secured between the crossbearerand stringerto support the1 iioor Stringer channel members 53 and 54.

Longitudinal central support for the oor is provided by `a pair of vertically extendingL-shaped elements 56 and 57 (Figs. 1 and l0), located closely adjacent each side of the center sill 35 (Figs. 7 and l0), with their anges extending outwardly. This supporting structure is necessary where the load forces are greatest, which may be at any point along the front track 29 and the rear track 31. Thus the supporting elements are divided into two portions. A front portion 58 extends under the front track 29 and rearwardly therefrom to the rst crossbearer 23 of the rear car section 25 adjacent the holding device 27. The latter extension is necessary as `the same bending moment problem as at the front holding device 26 exists at the center holding device 27. A rear portion 59 extends under the rear track 31 except from the bolster to vthe car end, as the support brackets 42and 43 give sutlicient support for that oor portion. At each crossbearer 23, a channel-shaped stiiener 60 is secured across the top of the center sill 35 to the inner top surface of each element 56 and 57. And at the free forward end of the element rear portion 59, a support spacer 61 (Figs. 5 and 6) is secured across the base -of the elements.

Thus, a novel underframe construction is presented having a pair of brackets extending from each bolster to `the adjacent end of the car and secured to the bolster and flooring for strengthening the oor structure so as to resist bending forces placed thereon. Also included inthe construction is a pair of anged supporting elements secured between the iloor and the crossbearers and closely adjacent the center sill for supporting the floor centrally thereof and for stiiening the oor area adjacent a center trailer holding device. The two aforementioned novel features, plus a unique floor Stringer arrangement, provide an underframe construction which has suicient strength to' withstand'all loads placed thereon due to. the specific purpose for-which the cary is used,

is capable of easy assembly,V and is -comprised Ofcommercially available stock.

What is claimed is:

l. In a railroad car for the purpose described having a oor and an underframe comprising a center sill, side sills, end sills, cross bearers, and body holsters between the cross bearers and the end sills, the combination therewith of means supporting said floor on s'aid underframe comprising a rst set of' members overlying the cross bearers and extending only between the bolsters and connected at theirends thereto and including a pair of members each having a vertical web located closely adjacent a side of the center sill and another pair of members each spaced equidistantly between the center sill and one of the side sills, the upper edges of each of said pairs `of members being operatively -connected to the oor for supporting the same, and said supporting means comprising also a second set of membersr including a pair of bracket assemblies extending from each bolster -to the adjacent end sill, each bracket assembly' being spaced laterally from the center sill and comprising a pair of laterally spacedk vertical longitudinal plates having their inner ends connected to the adjacent bolster and their outer ends connected tothe adjacenty end sill, and a generally horizontally disposed base plate connecting the bottom edges of the plates of each pair, the upper edges of said bracket assemblies being operatively connected to the door for supporting the same. v

2. The combination claimedl in claim 1 in which the base plate of each bracket assembly has approximately one-.half its length horizontally disposed and the remaining length angularly inclined downwardly therefrom andincludes a at stifiening plate secured to' the bottomof the horizontal portion ofthe base plate.

References; Cited the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 509,300 Edgar ..2 Nov. 21, 1893 t 650,859 McKeen June 5,1900 741,799 Keithley Oct. 20, 1903 986,422 Bettendorf Mai-.7, 1911 1,014,791 Voss Jan..16, 1912 2,118,364 Sheehan. May 24,l 1938 2,183,054V Tesseyman et al.l Dec'. 12, 1939 2,195,821 Nystrom ,Apr. 2, 1940- 2,635,559 Nystrom et a1. Apr. 21, 1953 2,764,299 Meyer Sept. 25, 1956 

